Pineapple, Coconut and Lime Ice Cream in Four Easy Stages

I had leftover tinned pineapple from the Pineapple Upside Down (I also used some with some gammon in the week - who knew a tin of pineapple could stretch so far!), and I knew I had a tin of Coconut Milk in my storecupboard (like you do!), so I was on the lookout for a dessert that involved both, and came across an ice-cream recipe on the Delicious Magazine website which involved both, and some other everyday ingredients.

I have dabbled with making ice-cream before, see recipe page for Banana Ice-cream, and I have also made a Maple Syrup and Amaretti Semi-Freddo, similar here, but I have not made a traditional custard ice-cream, because I was never keen on the idea of raw eggs in ice-cream. But actually, they aren't raw at all - they are cooked like you would for a custard. I'm not pretending that I don't usually get my custard from the refrigerators of my local supermarket, but I have made custard once or twice before!

This ice-cream has a tropical feel to it. If you want to go for the full on Pina Colada, you could add a little white rum, such as Bacardi, but I wouldn't go over the top, as you could ruin the subtle combination of coconut, pineapple and lime.

1. Pour the coconut milk in a pan with the lime zest. Don't worry if the coconut milk has split in the tin, as it will combine again when it is heated. Heat gently but don't let it boil. Just before it boils (the stage where you get a couple of bubbles) take it off the heat and leave to cool for 20 minutes.

2. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar and cornflour, and add in the coconut milk infusion gradually, whisking all the time. Pour this back into the pan (no need to get another one dirty!) and heat gently until it starts to thicken.

3. Strain into a clean bowl and cover and leave to completely cool. Pop the pineapple into a food processor and whizz until you have a pulp. As I didn't have enough pineapple, I also added the juice from the can. If you don't have a processor, do your best with a fork. Squeeze in the lime juice. Stir this into the cooled coconut custard.

4. Put in a container (you could use a loaf tin lined with baking parchment) and freeze. After 45 minutes, take it out of the freezer and whisk. This is to get rid of the ice crystals. Freeze again for at least a couple of hours, preferably overnight before using.

And with your leftover egg whites, you could make a meringue (mine is in the oven now) x